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Denver put together a worthy first NWSL season. Now, an interesting offseason awaits
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- Denver put together a worthy first NWSL season. Now, an interesting offseason awaits
The Denver Summit fell short of the playoffs in their inaugural season, but the organization should still feel good about how 2026 went. That final loss on Decision Day, 1-0 on the road to the North Carolina Courage, clearly stung, even if the Reign's win in Seattle against Orlando Pride by the same score would have made one last victory a hollow one for their postseason hopes.
"I think we created something so special," midfielder and Colorado native Lindsey Heaps told reporters after the final whistle on Sunday. "Really created an incredible culture, a winning culture, a successful team, a team that attacks and entertains and brings joy to the fans."
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For defender and fellow local Janine Sonis, there were multiple lessons from the team's first season that they will now be able to start working on in the offseason. With preseason slated to begin the first week of January, Sonis won't have long to wait for year two.
"I'm really excited to continue to build what we've started here," she said after that final game with the Courage.
How it started
The Summit started the ramp-up to their debut season with former Courage general manager Curt Johnson joining the front office in May 2025, then found their head coach in Nick Cushing by that August . With Johnson having extensive NWSL knowledge, the roster build was clearly shaped by that influence, leaning on players including Sonis, left back Carson Pickett, center back Kaleigh Kurtz and goalkeeper Abby Smith.
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The team also made a statement with their home opener, welcoming 63,004 fans to 76,000-capacity Empower Field at Mile High, home of the NFL's Denver Broncos.
Denver also brought USWNT captain Heaps back to the NWSL as a free-agent signing, following the conclusion of her season in Europe with OL Lyonnes, along with French rivals Paris Saint-Germain's defender Eva Gaetino. English forward Tash Flint was picked up via a loan from USL Super League side Tampa Bay Sun, and reunited with her former Manchester City head coach Cushing. The latter move was so successful, Denver made the deal permanent.
One of their most promising college signings, Stanford midfielder Jasmine Aikey, tore an ACL at a U.S. under-23s camp in March and missed the rest of the season.
The reliance on known NWSL talent largely paid off, especially with how productive they were in front of net.
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The Summit scored 53 goals through the 30 regular-season games, only behind the Kansas City Current and Angel City (tied in first with 54). Sonis in particular was one of the brightest spots of the season for Denver, scoring 12 times and adding eight assists in 29 games played. When Heaps arrived in June, she made an immediate difference, contributing seven goals and three assists in 13 appearances.
What went wrong?
For as much goalscoring as the Summit produced, they frequently struggled to hold onto leads.
In seven games this season, Denver led by a single goal. They went on to draw three of those matches and lose four, picking up only three points from the possible 21. In a perfect world, where all seven of those leads were maintained, they would have been right in the NWSL Shield race alongside Gotham FC and the second-placed San Diego Wave.
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The Summit also never seemed to get into a real rhythm of results, especially with the final six matches alternating between wins and losses to eventually keep them from securing a playoff spot.
Their best sequence started in late August, with back-to-back wins at home against the Chicago Stars (6-1) and, notably, eventual Shield winners Gotham (3-0). Deflating draws from leading positions against Angel City (3-3, where they were ahead 3-1) and Bay FC (2-2, having been two up) followed, before another three points at home to Seattle (2-1).
Then the win-loss pattern started after that Reign win, with a 4-1 loss from another leading position at Kansas City, a win on the road in Chicago (3-0), then a 3-2 home defeat against Angel City, followed by a massive 6-1 win over visitors Racing Louisville that kept the Summit in the hunt for the postseason.
To their credit as an expansion team, it all came down to Decision Day. But Seattle were in control of the eighth seed — not that the Summit were able to get the win they needed against the Courage in Cary anyway.
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Where do they go from here?
Denver need consistency and defensive depth.
One of the big questions that is likely to attract a lot of hot-stove speculation, however, addresses neither of those concerns. Will they make Colorado native Sophia Wilson an offer she can't refuse? The USWNT forward is set to be a free agent this offseason, and while the Portland Thorns are working hard to retain their star, it might be hard to resist for Denver.
Elsewhere, one of the juiciest subplots of the back half of the season took place between the Summit and Angel City, with Cushing directly calling out the Los Angeles side's more direct (and perhaps more NWSL) style of play. Angel City got the last laugh on him with that 3-2 road win last month.
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Many first-year European head coaches want to stick to their style of play and build out from the back, but Denver got punished for that on multiple occasions in their first year. There's a lesson here: direct play is a tool in the toolbox for every NWSL club, and there's no shame in Denver embracing it as a part of their game. The spiciness, at least with Angel City, is just a bonus.
This article originally appeared in The Athletic .
Denver Summit FC, NWSL, Women's Soccer
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